Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking appliance, particularly to a cooking appliance configured such that a heat source control unit is manipulated using a rotary knob, and more particularly to a cooking appliance configured such that the restraint of a rotary knob or a shaft of a heat source control unit connected with the rotary knob is prevented.
Discussion of the Related Art
Cooking appliances are products that cook food using electricity or other kinds of energy at home.
Among cooking appliances, there are a gas stove, a gas oven, and a gas oven/stove, which use gas. In the gas stove, the gas oven, and the gas oven/stove, food is cooked using the combustion of gas. In addition, there are a microwave oven and a microwave oven/stove, which use electricity. Of course, one cooking appliance may use multiple kinds of energy, such as both electricity and gas.
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a general oven/stove, which is an example of such a cooking appliance. Of course, the cooking appliance shown in FIG. 1 may be a cooking appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, FIG. 1 is merely an illustration for describing the construction of a general cooking appliance.
As shown in FIG. 1, a cooking appliance 10 or an oven/stove includes a cabinet 20 defining the external appearance of the cooking appliance. In the cabinet 20 may be defined a chamber 25 for receiving food to be cooked. Of course, the chamber 25 may be omitted from the cooking appliance 10.
A cooktop 26, on which cooking containers are placed, may be provided at the upper side of the cabinet 20. That is, cooking containers, such as pots, may be located on the cooktop 26 such that cooking is performed using heat generated from underneath the cooktop.
The chamber 25 or the cooktop 26 may be a cooking unit, in which cooking is performed using heat generated from gas or electricity. Based on the kind of cooking appliance, various cooking units may be provided. For example, the cooking unit may be configured such that cooking is performed through the direct use of heat generated from gas or through the radiation or conduction of heat generated from gas.
The cabinet 20 may be provided at the front thereof with a door 50 for opening and closing the chamber 25. A handle 60 may be provided at the door 50. A user may open and close the door 50 while holding the handle 60.
The cooking appliance may include a panel 30, which may be integrally formed with the cabinet 20 or may be coupled to the cabinet 20. The panel 30 may be provided with a manipulation unit for allowing a user to control the cooking appliance.
The manipulation unit may be configured to supply heat generated from gas, to stop the supply of heat generated from gas, and to adjust the intensity of heat generated from gas. Of course, the manipulation unit may also be configured to drive an electric heater or to adjust the amount of heat that is generated by the electric heater. The manipulation unit may include a timer. In addition, the manipulation unit may further include a display part for informing the user of cooking information or a current state of the cooking appliance.
The panel 30 may be provided with a knob 40. The knob 40 may be configured to supply heat generated from gas or to drive the electric heater according to the user's manipulation. That is, the knob 40 is an example of the manipulation unit. The knob 40 may be manipulated to adjust the amount of heat that is supplied.
For example, the user may manipulate the knob 40 in order to supply heat generated from gas into the chamber or to supply heat generated from gas to a specific one selected from among a plurality of cooking elements. Consequently, a plurality of knobs 40 may generally be provided as the manipulation unit.
Each knob 40 may generally be connected to a shaft (see FIG. 3) of a heat source control unit (see FIG. 3) located at the rear of the panel 30. The knob 40 may generally be rotated in order to supply heat generated from gas or to drive the electric heater. The motion of the knob 40 may be transmitted to the heat source control unit through the shaft. As a result, heat generated from gas may be supplied to the chamber or a specific one of the cooking elements, or the electric heater may be driven.
As shown in FIG. 1, the panel 30 may be provided at the front of the cabinet 20. Alternatively, the panel 30 may be provided at the top of the cabinet. As shown in FIG. 1, the panel 30 may be provided in an inclined state. Alternatively, the panel 30 may be provided vertically. Consequently, the position and attitude of the knob 40 may be changed depending upon the position or shape of the panel 30.
In recent years, there have been provided cooking appliances in which the knob 40 is made of an aluminum material or a zinc material in consideration of safety and design. That is, the knob 40 has been manufactured using a metal material in order to improve the design of the knob 40 by imparting the gloss of metal. In addition, the knob 40 has been manufactured such that the knob 40 is too heavy for children to easily manipulate the knob 40.
In many cases, the knob 40 may be oriented vertically at the front of the cooking appliance. This means that the shaft is oriented horizontally, i.e. parallel to the ground. For this reason, the shaft may be deformed or deviated positionally. Such deformation or positional deviation (eccentricity) of the shaft may cause the restraint of the shaft. As a result, the rotation of the shaft may be restrained.
The restraint of the shaft may frequently occur when the knob 40 is heavy. In particular, when the shaft is oriented horizontally, the restraint of the shaft may occur more frequently.
Meanwhile, in a case in which a knob ring is used as in an embodiment of the present invention, as will hereinafter be described, the knob 40 may be restrained by the knob ring. This is because the center of the knob may deviate from the center of the knob ring in a state in which the knob ring is not moved. Such restraint may occur due to deformation or eccentricity of the shaft. Therefore, there is a high necessity for a cooking appliance configured such that the restraint of the knob or the shaft is prevented.